Dyer&#39;s identification-tag apparatus.



N0. 680,877. Patented Aug. 20, IBM. C. MURGAN. DYERS IDENTIFIGATIUN TAG APPARATUS.

(Application filed Jan. 21, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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CHARLES MORGAN, OF DES MOINES, IOVA.

DYERS IDENTIFICATION TAG APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 680,877, dated August 20, 1901.

Application filed January 21, 1901. Serial No. 44,102

To aZZ whom (it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES MORGAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dyers Identification-Tag Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

Heretofore it has been customary for dyers to affix to garments pieces of cloth having written thereon the names ofthe owners or other identification-marks. These tags have usually been connected with the garments by sewing. Considerable annoyance and many mistakes have arisen under this system, because the dyeing process frequently obliterates the marks upon the tag, and much time is lost in affixing the tags before dyeing and in removing them afterward.

My object is to provide an identificationtag apparatus in which metal tags having permanently aifixed identification marks upon them may be detachably secured to the garments, said identification-marks being so arranged that an indefinite number of tags may be provided and yet an operator may determine at a glance at the tag the ownership of the garment and the number of garments belonging to the individual owner.

My apparatus comprises, further, a board having hooks upon which the tags may be secured and marks designating the hooks,

so arranged that the particular tag desired may be readily and quickly ascertained and removed from or attached to the particular hook where it belongs.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the apparatus, and particularly in (No model.)

is divided into rectangular figures by the vertical transverse lines 11. Along the top border of the board the row of rectangular figures is provided with numerals, beginning with No. 1, placed in the second figure on the board and continuing in regular numerical progression indefinitely, one numeral to each of said figures. On the left side of the board the row of rectangular figures is pro vided with identification-symbols comprising the letters of the alphabet, beginning with A, which is placed in the second square from the top of the board and continued indefinitely in regular alphabetical progression toward the bottom of the board. In each of the remaining squares of the entire board I have placed a series of hooks or pins 12, designed to support the identifica- (ion-tags.

The tag proper comprises a piece of metal, preferably disk-shaped, made of brass. This piece of metal is indicated by the referencenumeral 13. A chain 14: is connected therewith and formed into a loop, so that the chain may be passed through the buttonhole of a garment and then the tag passed through the loop of the chain, thereby firmly securing it to the garment. Marked upon each tag is a numeral (indicated by the symbol 15) and also a letter of the alphabet (indicated by the sym bol 16) and also one or more perforations, (indicated by the symbol 17.)

The rectangular figure upon the board in which any particular tag belongs is readily determined, as follows: The operator notes the numeral upon the tag and finds the column on the board directly beneath the corresponding numeral on the board. In this way the vertical column in which the tag belongs is determined. Then by noting the letter upon the tag the horizontal column of the board in which the tag belongs may be determined. Obviously at a glance the operator may determine the particular rectangular figure upon the board in which the tag belongs. As before stated, each of these rectangular figures is provided with a series of hooks or pins, and the particular hook or pin upon which the tag is placed is determined as follows: These pins are each provided. with a number, beginning at the upper left-hand corner of the figure and continuing toward the right in regular numerical progression. Then if the particular tag has one perforation it belongs on the pin or hook numbered 1 in the figure on the board, as before designated, and if it has two perforations it belongs on the pin or hook indicated by the numeral 2.

In practical use it is obvious that this apparatus may be extended indefinitely, so as to adapt itself to the demands of any business.

Assuming that the device were used by a garment-dyeing establishment and that one particular agent or collector be given all of the tags bearing the numeral 1, and assuming, further, that he then receives an order for work from an individual, said order comprising five separate garments, and another order from a second individual comprising four separate garments, he designates the firstindividual by the letter A upon his books, and he designates the second individual by the letter B. The garments belonging to the first individual are each provided with one of the tags bearing the symbol 1A and having five perforations therein, and the garments in the second order are each provided with a tag bearing the symbol 1 13, each tag having four perforations therein. It is well known that the dyestuffs used for garments will not discolor a bright brass tag. Hence after the garment is dyed a glance at the tag will readily reveal the markings thereon, and if a garment is found bearing one of the tags before described the operator may determine at a glance, first, that it belongs to the agent having charge of the tags bearing the numeral 1; second, that it belongs to theindividual A1, and, third, that there are five garments in the order belonging to the said individual. In this manner the garments may be instantly and accurately identified, and all necessary data in regard to ownership and disposition thereof may be readily determined. When the garments are ready to be wrapped and delivered, the tags are detached from the buttonhole and hung again upon the board, as before described.

It is obvious that in place of the perforations before described as useful in designating the number of garments in a given order any other suitable indicia may be substituted.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States therefor, is

1. Anidentification-tag apparatus,comprising in combination, aboard having its surface divided into squares, a series of consecutive indicating-marks at the top of the board, one mark for each column of squares, a second series of consecutive indicating-marks at one side of the board, one for each row of squares, a series of pins or hooks in each of the remaining squares on the board, and a number of tags to be suspended from the pins or hooks and three indicating-marks on each tag, the first corresponding to one of the marks at the top of one of the vertical columns, and the second corresponding to one of the marks at the end of one of the horizontal columns, and the third designating the pin or hook in the square to which it belongs and also designating the number of articles to which the tag is to be applied.

2. Anidentification-tag apparatus comprising in combination aboard having its surface divided into squares,indicating-marks on the board for each square, a series of hooks in each square, a series of tags for each square, indicating-marks on each tagfor ascertaining the square to which it belongs, and an additional indicating-mark for the tags of each square to determine both the hook on which they belong and the number of articles to which the tags in any particular square are to be applied.

CHARLES MORGAN.

\Vitnesses:

W. R. LANE, J. RALPH ORWIG. 

